31 January 2018
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  • 31/01/2018 - RUSSIA-US

    The list includes114 members of the administration, and 91 "oligarchs", close to President Putin. The excluded fear a loss of prestige in the eyes of the Russians themselves. Putin makes fun of his not being included. Public opinion even more compacted around its supreme leader. Mikhail Fedotov: "It’s as if they randomly chose names form the phone directory".


    by Vladimir Rozanskij

    31/01/2018 - UN - MIDDLE EAST

    UN Report: Rising hunger levels in Middle East war zones


    According to a WFP and FAO investigation, food shortages and food insecurity deteriorate in areas affected by conflict. The most critical situation is recorded in Yemen, plagued by wars and epidemics. Syria and Lebanon also of concern. WFP expert: The price of violence is "getting higher".


    31/01/2018 - NORTH KOREA

    Unicef: 60,000 children in North Korea are in danger of dying of hunger


    Aid slowed and hindered by sanctions. Banks and companies are afraid of being accused of violating the embargo.


    31/01/2018 - MALAYSIA

    Kuala Lumpur bans Padmaavat movie: 'It offends Islamic sensitivity'


    In recent months, the epic has attracted fierce criticism from radical Hindu groups in India. Protests sparked by the alleged love story between a Hindu queen and a 13th century Muslim monarch. The film withdrawn from 90 rooms in the country.


    30/01/2018 - PAKISTAN – CHINA – INDIA

    The opening of Gwadar Free Trade Zone on China’s new Silk Road disappoints New Delhi


    The Pakistani port is the flagship project of the US$ 50 billion China-Pakistan Economic Corridor. Its annual output is expected to reach US$ 790.5 million when in full operation. India oppose the corridor because it runs through the disputed territory of Kashmir.


    30/01/2018 - PHILIPPINES

    Bishops against Duterte’s constitutional changes


    Prelates bemoan a “feeling of a creeping dictatorship is conjured by past experience.” They warn of a lack of transparency and a shift towards authoritarianism, calling on Catholics to be vigilant and understand the risks of "a rash move for a new Charter".


    30/01/2018 - JAPAN

    Woman sues government, asks for compensation over forced sterilisation


    This is the first suit against the state over its Eugene Protection Act. The authorities have not apologised nor provided relief for the 25,000 people involved in the sterilisation programme between 1948 and 1996. Records show that more than half of the victims were minors. The case could be the first of many.


    30/01/2018 - CHINA

    Human rights lawyer Yu Wensheng detained on subversion charges


    Yu has lost his license to practice. He was moved Jiangxi. His wife has been told not to speak with foreign media. The crime of "opinion" has become a crime of "subversion". Yu wants an end to the Communist Party's monopoly of power over the military and society.


    30/01/2018 - IRAN

    After four years, Mousavi’s house arrest lifted


    The reformist leader had been under restrictive measures without a trial since 2011 after leading a protest against Ahmadinejad’s sham re-election. Rouhani, who succeeded the latter, said he wants to put an end to the restrictive measures.


    30/01/2018 - VATICAN

    Pope: like Jesus, the true shepherd 'throws himself into people’s midst' with tenderness


    The pastor who, like Jesus, "ends his weary day", tired of "doing good" will make the people feel the presence of God. "The pastor must be anointed with oil, the day of his ordination: priestly and episcopal . But the real oil, the inner oil, is the oil of closeness and tenderness ".


    30/01/2018 - SAUDI ARABIA

    Riyadh releases (after billion dollar payment) prisoners of anti-corruption campaign


    The authorities announced the release of all those arrested and held for three months in the Ritz-Carlton hotel. The detainees have reached an economic agreement and charges have been dropped. Contrasting voices about the liberation of the businessman Al-Walid bin Talal. He reportedly paid six billion dollars, but is still be under house arrest.


    30/01/2018 - INDIA

    India has 21 million unwanted girls and 63 million “never born”


    Indian parents have a "preference for a male child" and will continue bringing girls into the world until they generate the male. Although banned, tests for determining the sex of the unborn child are still widespread. Every year two million girls "disappear" through abortion, diseases and malnutrition.


    30/01/2018 - VIETNAM

    Like Beijing, Hanoi had only 38 days of clean air in 2017


    Heavy industries, construction works, vehicles and agriculture burning contributed to air pollution. The city is more polluted than Indonesia’s capital Jakarta. Vietnam plans to build more coal power plants.


    30/01/2018 - TURKEY - SYRIA

    Ankara arrests over 300 people for protests against the Kurdish offensive


    According to the government, the demonstrators promote "terrorist propaganda". In reality, they led demonstrations and online protests against the military operation.  Eight representatives of the medical union among the arrested. They had denounced the risk of a "public health problem" linked to the offensive.


    29/01/2018 - VIETNAM

    Mass declared illegal in Nghệ An under a new law that hinders religious activities

    by Joseph Huy

    Religious organisations are required to provide a list of annual activities in advance. Local authorities turned on Song Ngọc parish for failing to inform them of a Mass. The state paid no heed to the opinions expressed by religious institutions on its controversial religious law.


    29/01/2018 - SRI LANKA

    Environmentalist calls for the elimination and recycling of plastics to reduce pollution

    by Melani Manel Perera

    In Sri Lanka, 20 million lunch sheets, 15 million plastic bags and 10 million empty bottles end up in the environment every day. The only two companies that make plastic bottles earn huge profits. Hemantha Vithanage, founder and executive director of the Centre for Environmental Justice (CEJ), talks about the problem.


    29/01/2018 - VATICAN

    Pope: 'there is no true humility without humiliation', as Jesus shows


    "Humility is not justifying oneself immediately in the face of an offense, trying to look good:" if you cannot bear a humiliation, you are not humble ". "This is the golden rule". And "if someone is brave, he can ask, as St. Ignatius teaches us, he can ask the Lord to send him humiliations, to more closely resemble the Lord ".


    29/01/2018 - PAKISTAN

    Punjab, killer of Christian student freed. The pain of the family

    by Kamran Chaudhry

    Catholics denounce "evidence tampered with by security agencies". Medical investigations on the Christian's body do not reveal signs of torture. Sharoon Masih, 17 years old, was beaten to death out of religious racism. Similar atrocities ruin the image of Islam in the eyes of the rest of the world.


    29/01/2018 - YEMEN

    Yemen, new battle front: pro-emirate separatists against Aden government


    15 people died in the weekend clashes, at least 30 were wounded. The rebels from the south are demanding the resignation of the prime minister and the government, accused of corruption. In the temporary capital schools, universities and the airport closed. Red Cross sound alarm for civilian victims.


    29/01/2018 - VATICAN

    Pope: Responsibility and common memory against indifference and anti-Semitism


    Two days after International Holocaust Remembrance Day, Pope Francis met with the participants in the International Conference on the responsibility of states, institutions and individuals in the fight against anti-Semitism and anti-Semitic hate crimes. Representatives of Italy’s Jewish communities were also present. Cain, the pope noted, is not interested in his brother: “here is the root of perversity, the root of death that produces desperation and silence.” For him, “we need a common memory, living and faithful, that should not remain imprisoned in resentment.” Young people need to be informed and educated in the matter.


    29/01/2018 - VATICAN

    Pope: conscience is central in validity cases of marriage


    At the opening of the Judicial Year of the Roman Rota, Francis recommended that the "conscience of the faithful in difficulty as regards their marriage does not close up to a path of grace." He stressed the need for a "permanent catechumenate" to revitalise the Christian conscience vis-à-vis marriage, and overcome the tendency in today’s younger generations to flee from their responsibilities.


    29/01/2018 - CHINA - VATICAN - HONG KONG

    Card. Zen on the bishops of Shantou and Mindong

    by Card. Joseph Zen

    The bishop emeritus of Hong Kong confirms the information published in recent days by AsiaNews and reveals details of his conversation with Pope Francis on these topics: "Do not create another Mindszenty case", the primate of Hungary whom the Vatican forced to leave the country, appointing a successor in Budapest, at the will of the communist government of the time. 


    29/01/2018 - SYRIA - TURKEY - RUSSIA

    Syrian conflict: Russian peace talks in Sochi overshadowed by Turkish anti-Kurdish offensive


    Kurdish leaders threaten to boycott peace talks on the Black Sea in response to the offensive launched by the Turks in the autonomous region of Afrin. The main anti-Assad group also abandons talks. The Turkish fighters damaged a 3 thousand year old Hittite temple.


    29/01/2018 - AFGHANISTAN

    Kabul, Isis attacks military outpost


    There were five militants, armed with rifles and rocket launchers. Five soldiers were killed and 10 wounded.


    28/01/2018 - VATICAN

    Pope: How long will the Afghan people have to endure this inhumane violence?


    During the Angelus, Pope Francis made an appeal for Afghanistan, which was hit by terrorist attacks in recent days. He also mentioned World Leprosy Day. Two young people from Azione Cattolica read a Message of Peace. "Jesus is our Teacher, powerful in words and deeds."


    27/01/2018 - RUSSIA

    Christmas readings on moral commitment among young people and in society


    A series of conferences held from 23 to 26 January brought together researchers, teachers, students and politicians from Russia and around the world. For Metropolitan Mercurius, “it is rare to find those who are willing to have Christian justice as the foundation of their professional activity”.


    27/01/2018 - VATICAN – ISLAM

    The seven monks of Tibhirine to be beatified


    The Vatican issued the decree of martyrdom for the slain monks, Oran Bishop Mgr Pierre Claverie, and other 11 men and women religious killed between 1994 and 1996 during the Algerian civil war. Doubts about responsibility in the murders persist.


    27/01/2018 - RUSSIA – SYRIA – UNITED NATIONS

    As UN-sponsored talks fail, Syrian opposition to boycott Sochi meeting


    "I share the immense frustration of millions of Syrians inside and outside the country at the lack of a political settlement to date," said UN’s Staffan De Mistura. United States and Saudi Arabia boycott meeting.


    27/01/2018 - SRI LANKA

    Some 200 girls start school at Holy Family Convent in Colombo (photos)

    by Melani Manel Perera

    The older students give the new pupils welcome tags and lotus flowers to offer to Our Lady. The Catholic school’s task "is to create an environment that takes care” of students. Its “educational method stimulates curiosity, self-discipline, positive attitudes and compassion.”






    Editor's choices

    CHINA - VATICAN - HONG KONG
    Card. Zen on the bishops of Shantou and Mindong

    Card. Joseph Zen

    The bishop emeritus of Hong Kong confirms the information published in recent days by AsiaNews and reveals details of his conversation with Pope Francis on these topics: "Do not create another Mindszenty case", the primate of Hungary whom the Vatican forced to leave the country, appointing a successor in Budapest, at the will of the communist government of the time. 


    VATICAN – ISLAM
    The seven monks of Tibhirine to be beatified



    The Vatican issued the decree of martyrdom for the slain monks, Oran Bishop Mgr Pierre Claverie, and other 11 men and women religious killed between 1994 and 1996 during the Algerian civil war. Doubts about responsibility in the murders persist.


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